MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama softball team will host its second tournament of the season with the Mardi Gras Invitational at Jaguar Field. South will open up play with two games on Friday, Feb. 22 versus Stephen F. Austin (2:30 p.m.) and No. 18 vs. Illinois (4:45 p.m.).

Tournament Notes

GAMES: 10 – 14 | MARDI GRAS INVITATIONAL
Feb. 22-24, 2019 | Mobile, Ala. | Jaguar Field

South Alabama – Mardi Gras Invitational Schedule
Fri. – South Alabama vs. Stephen F. Austin– 2:30 p.m.
Fri. – South Alabama vs. Illinois – 4:45 p.m.
Sat. – South Alabama vs. Hofstra – 1:30 p.m.
Sat. – South Alabama vs. Stephen F. Austin – 6 p.m.
Sun. – South Alabama vs. Nicholls State – 1:30 p.m.

GAME DAY INFORMATION
Television: None
Radio: 99.5 The Jag
(Only game 1 against Stephen F. Austin on Fri.)
Live Stats: www.USAJaguars.com
Live Stream: JagNationTV
(In-Game Updates) Twitter: @WeAreSouth_SB

South Alabama JAGUARS
Record: 4-5, 0-0 SBC
Team Slash (AVG / SLG / OBP): .231 / .382 / .346

Stephen F. Austin LADYJACKS
Record: 9-3, 0-0 SLC
Team Slash (AVG / SLG / OBP): .311 / .409 / .389

Illinois FIGHTING ILLINI
Record: 7-2, 0-0 Big Ten
Team Slash (AVG / SLG / OBP):  .337 / .576 / .425

Hofstra PRIDE
Record: 0-4, 0-0 CAA
Team Slash (AVG / SLG / OBP): .145 / .224 / .261

Nicholls State COLONELS
Record: 7-4, 0-0 SLC
Team Slash (AVG / SLG / OBP): .236 / .353 / .331

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS    
– South Alabama (0-0, 0-0 SBC) comes into its second home tournament after falling 4-1 at No. Florida State on Wednesday night.
– The Jaguars cut the deficit in half in the top of the sixth on Kamdyn Kvistad's RBI double to right scoring Brittani Reid who had also doubled earlier in the inning, but FSU answered back with a pair of runs in the bottom half to pick up the three-run victory.
– With her double, Kvistad extended both her hit streak to a career best five games.
– Freshman shortstop Kennedy Cronan continues to lead the club offensively with a .367 average.
– Cronan also paces the club in slugging percentage (.767), runs (8), hits (11), doubles (3), home runs (3) and total bases (23).
– Cronan's seven RBI are also tied with Abby Krzywiecki for the team lead in that category. Kvistad (.357), B. Reid (.333) and Dayla Gulledge (.308) have each driven in five runs apiece.
– Katelyn Gruich has also been solid at the plate as she has a .333 batting average coming into the Mardi Gras Invitational
– Gruich was hit twice by a pitch on Wednesday night, moving her into a three-way tie at South Alabama for her career (21). Gruich is currently tied Coastal Carolina's Kassidy Smith as she has been hit five times this season.
– Freshman pitcher Samantha Yarbrough leads the team and is tied for sixth in the Sun Belt in strike outs (24).

SCOUTING THE LADYJACKS    
– Stephen F. Austin (9-3, 0-0 SLC) enters the weekend after defeating Texas Southern (8-0) in five innings on Wednesday night.
– The Ladyjacks have faced two Sun Belt opponents – Louisiana (2) and ULM (1) – this season and are 1-2 against the league.
– Stephen F. Austin is batting .311 as a team and is led in that category by Cassidy Tucker (.438)
– Brittany Crawford and Margarita Corona are also hitting .400 on the season.
– Crawford and Corona have each recorded a team high two home runs apiece, while Corona has driven in a team best nine runs.
– Emily Wolfe is hitting just below the .400 mark as she has a .367 average. Wolfe is a perfect 7-for-7 in her stolen base attempts, while the Ladyjacks are 19-for-19 as a team.
– Alex Hedspeth (.310) has driven in a team best 10 runs. Of her nine hits, five have gone for extra bases.
– Freshman pitcher Kassidy Wilbur (5-2) enters with a 1.29 ERA and has struck out 45 in her 38.0 innings of work.
– Wilbur was named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week after the opening weekend of the season, and in doing so became the first Ladyjack to ever receive the national award.
– Wilbur was also selected one of the Top Performers by Louisville Slugger/NFCA after week one after posting a 4-0 record with a 0.00 ERA, 32 strikeouts, seven walks and holding opponents to a .164 batting average.
– Ashley Kriesel has also been solid in the circle as she is 2-1 with three complete games and holds a 1.54 ERA. Kriesel also has 38 strikeouts in 24.2 innings.
– Jordan Llinas also holds an ERA under two at 1.95.
– As a staff, SFA has a team ERA of 1.63 and has struck out 93.

THE SERIES VS. STEPHEN F. AUSTIN    
– South Alabama and Stephen F. Austin have met one other time in the all-time series with the Jags taking that meeting 3-0 at the South Alabama Invitational in Mobile.

INSIDE THE SERIES VS. THE LADYJACKS    
Series: 1-0 (H: 1-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
Extra-Inning Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
Run-Rule Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 /N: 0-0)
NCAA Tournament Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
First Meeting: 2/25/17
Last Meeting: 2/25/17
Longest South Alabama Streak: 1 ('17)
Longest Stephen F. Austin Streak: --
Current Streak: 1 by South Alabama

SCOUTING THE FIGHTING ILLINI    
– Illinois (7-2, 0-0 Big Ten) entered the week ranked as high as 18th (Softball America) in one of the three major polls.
– Last weekend, Illinois swept its four games at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, defeating Boston College and Georgia Tech two times each.
– The Illini have been outstanding offensively as they are batting .337 as a club, while also registering 18 doubles and 15 home runs.
– Four players are batting over .400 led by Kiana Sherland (.500). Sherland paces the team in runs (12), hits (15), walks (8) and doubles (5).
– Rhein Trochim is second on the team with a .444 batting average, while Annie Flemming is batting .406 with nine runs scored.
– Bella Loya has provided the power for Illinois as her five home runs are the most on the club as well as her 13 RBI.
– As a staff, the Illini hold a 4.34 earned run average.
THE SERIES VS. ILLINOIS    
– The meeting between South Alabama and Illinois will mark the fourth in the all-time series between the two clubs.
– The Jaguars and the Fighting Illini faced each other during South's first tournament of the 2018 season at the Friends of Jaclyn Invitational at held at Soldiers Creek Park in Winter Springs, Fla.
– The Jags jumped out to an 8-0 victory over the first four innings and went on to pick up a 10-3 win.
– Prior to last season's match up, the only other meetings between the two clubs came back during the 2014 season when they met at the Parent's Weekend Tournament hosted by Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton, Fla.
– The Jaguars took both of those contest defeating the Illini 5-3 in the first game and then taking a 5-2 decision in extra innings in the second.

INSIDE THE SERIES VS. THE FIGHTING ILLINI    
Series: 3-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 3-0)
Extra-Inning Games: 1-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 1-0)
Run-Rule Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
NCAA Tournament Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
First Meeting: 3/8/14
Last Meeting: 2/10/18
Longest South Alabama Streak: 3 ('14-'18)
Longest Illinois Streak: --
Current Streak: 3 by South Alabama

SOUTH AGAINST THE BIG TEN    
– South Alabama holds an all-time record of 6-3 (.667) against current Big Ten Conference members.
– The Jaguars split its two meetings versus Big Ten opponents last season, defeating Illinois (10-3) at the Friends of Jaclyn Invitational, but falling to Minnesota (13-3) at the Diamond 9 Citrus II Classic.
– South will also face Purdue on March 1 at the 2019 Diamond 9 Citrus II Classic in Kissimmee, Fla.

SCOUTING THE PRIDE    
– Hofstra (0-4, 0-0 CAA) opened the 2019 season this past weekend at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational in Clearwater, Fla.
– The Pride faced three top 25 programs – No. 18/21 Kentucky (0-8), No. 3/3 Oklahoma (17-3) and No. 20/17 Oklahoma State (13-2) – as well as Utah who was also receiving votes, each run-rule losses.
– Madison McKevitt (.286) and Meghan Giordano (.250) lead the team at the plate offensively.
– Giordano has a home run and has driven in five runs.
– Hofstra's pitching staff comes into the weekend with a 16.26 ERA and 48 of the 49 runs allowed over its first weekend of play were earned.
– The Pride have also given up 20 extra-base hits in their first four games.

THE SERIES VS. HOFSTRA    
– This will be the first meeting in the all-time series between South Alabama and Hofstra.

SOUTH AGAINST THE COLONIAL ATHLETIC    
– South Alabama has faced a current Colonial Athletic Conference member two previous times.
– The Jaguars' win versus the league came during the 2013 season when they defeated Delaware (1-0) at the Jacksonville Invitational in Jacksonville, Fla.
– The last meeting versus the CAA came at the Diamond 9 Citrus II Classic on March 3, 2017 when South was shutout 4-0 by 12th-ranked James Madison.
– The meeting versus Hofstra is the only meeting versus a Colonial Athletic opponent this season that the Jags are scheduled to face.

SCOUTING THE COLONELS    
– Nicholls State (7-4, 0-0 SLC) comes into the Mardi Gras Invitational after winning three of its five games last weekend at the Houston Classic in Houston, Texas.
– The Colonels split games with Nevada and Maryland the first two days of the tournament and then closed out the weekend with an 8-0, six-inning win over Sun Belt member ULM.
– Emma Holland leads NSU offensively with a .375 batting average. Holland has scored eight runs, driven in six runs and holds a .434 slugging percentage.
– Kasey Frederick is right behind Holland hitting at a .321 clip.
– As a staff, Nicholls holds a 1.50 ERA.
– Megan Landry leads the Colonels in that category with a 0.92 earned run average. Landry is 6-1 and has struck out 42 batters in her 48.1 innings of work, while only issuing seven walks.
– Opponents are also only batting .177 against Landry.
– Four of the five runs allowed by Landry have come via home runs.

THE SERIES VS. NICHOLLS STATE    
– South Alabama and Nicholls State have met 17 times in the all-time series with nine of those meetings coming in Mobile.
– The Jaguars hold a 12-5 overall record in the all-time series and are 7-2 against the Colonels on their home field, including the last five at Jaguar Field.
– This will be the first meeting between the two teams since the 2015 campaign.
– South won the first two series meetings between the two programs and then saw Nicholls take the next five.
– The Jags though have on 10-straight in the series coming into the weekend.
– South Alabama holds three run-rule victories against the Colonels.

INSIDE THE SERIES VS. THE COLONELS    
Series: 12-5 (H: 7-2 / A: 4-2 / N: 1-1)
Extra-Inning Games: 0-1 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-1 / N: 0-0)
Run-Rule Games: 3-0 (H: 3-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
NCAA Tournament Games: 0-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-0)
First Meeting: 4/25/07
Last Meeting: 4/8/15
Longest South Alabama Streak: 10 ('10-'15)
Longest Nicholls State Streak: 5 ('08-'10)
Current Streak: 10 by South Alabama
Last 5 – 5-0
Last 10 – 10-0

SOUTH AGAINST THE SOUTHLAND    
– South Alabama holds an all-time record of 43-11 (.796) against current Southland Conference members.
– The Jags won its only meeting versus a SLC opponent last season, defeating McNeese State 9-6 in Lake Charles, La.
– The 17 meetings versus Nicholls State are the most versus any SLC member.
– The Jaguars will also face McNeese State on April 24 in Mobile.
– Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word are the lone Southland Conference members that South has yet to face.

JAGUARS AT THE MARDI GRAS INVITATIONAL    
– South Alabama has hosted at the Mardi Gras Invitational seven times (2017, '16, '15, '14, '13, '12 and '10).
– The tournament dates back to the 2010 season.
– USA holds an 22-7 (.759) record at the tournament, and have gone undefeated in the tourney four times 2017 (4-0), 2015 (4-0), 2014 (5-0), 2013 (5-0)
– South is 3-0 at the Mardi Gras Invitational versus Lipscomb having faced the Bison at the '15, '12 and '10 Invitational.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Becky Clark
- On the progression she's looking for her team to make heading into this third tournament: "I thought this past weekend was a huge tournament for us. Opening weekend was a rough outing so it was important for us to respond the right way, especially on our home field. I thought Friday we did that and then unfortunately had let down the next morning in the Tulsa game. The Mercer game was a big moment for us because we gave up the big inning early but then responding with our own big inning and took the lead. That level of toughness and competitiveness is what I am looking for this week. We play some great programs over the next seven days - programs who are playing with a lot of confidence and momentum - we have to be mature enough as a team to understand that there is no room for anything other than our best effort and toughest mentality."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSout_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Bullpen Club, the softball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund.  Members have access to purchase parking passes and receive Jaguar Softball gear.  All donations to the Bullpen Club go directly to support the South Alabama softball program.  For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/bullpenclub.

—USA—